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Cold Smoke & VOC's
RedSkip
Posts: 1,400
Just curious if those who cold smoke cheese and other items experience VOC flavors from cold smoking?
Any thoughts on this?
Any thoughts on this?
Large BGE -
McDonald, PA
Comments
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You are supposed to use leftover lump from a previous higher temp burn from what I read. Makes sense. Save it up from multiple cooks if you need to.
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If you are going Colorado style - hooking up 2 eggs in some sort of pot-smoking hooka-type things, just get the "hot" egg going like you'd do for a regular low and slow smoke..... get that lovely blue smoke rolling BEFORE you put the snorkel on to pipe the smoke into the other egg....... No worries about VOC's then!
LBGE since 2014
Griffin, GA
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Great points....
@stompbox Never thought of using already burnt lump.
@DaveRichardson Not blessed with having two eggs.Large BGE - McDonald, PA -
I use the Amaz-in-Smoker and apple pellets. Never experienced VOC flavors..Southlake, TX and Cowhouse Creek - King, TX. 2 Large, 1 Small and a lot of Eggcessories.
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I don't think that you have the VOC issue with pellets since they are a compressed wood fiber.@RedSkip - maybe another grill, Weber kettle, or something like that? That'll work with the snorkel connecting the two.
just thinking here..... but logic tells me that since you want the cold smoking chamber not to retain heat very much, the better option would be to use the empty egg with your smoke generating apparatus and then duct it into the other vessel that is no where near as insulated as an egg.
LBGE since 2014
Griffin, GA
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@DaveRichardson The question came about not because I want to cold smoke, but because I was watching a video by SmokeDaddyInc.
In the video he talks of his cold smoke device generating a quality smoke because it's not gray, but you can clearly see heavy white smoke. This got me pondering the question, do folks who cold smoke experience off favors from VOCs?
Everything I've read states clear/blue smoke being the cleanest. Just goes to smoke not everything on the Internet is true...Large BGE - McDonald, PA -
I use the AMS and their pellets and no off taste.Columbia, SC --- LBGE 2011 -- MINI BGE 2013
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Its a different material that is burning and generating the smoke. Completely different animal.
LBGE since 2014
Griffin, GA
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Pellets are made of wood. Burning wood releases VOC's.
Heck, wood pellets just sitting in their container/baggy emit VOC's. Buildings that store tons of pellets often cause sensory irritation to the occupants due to the outgassing of the VOC's.
When cold smoking cheese it's not really that important to try and get the holy grail of smoke - that thin blue streak - since most folks only smoke the cheese for a couple of hours.“Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.” ― Philip K. Diçk -
Hickory Pellets in my amazing smoker smell identical to bad smoke being burned off royal oakPhoenix
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The quality of the smoke is independent of the temperature of the cooking chamber. With a hot smoke, the meat is the coldest thing in the chamber/smoker. Smoke is more likely to condense on the coldest spots.
With a cold smoke, everything *should* be at the same temperature - ambient. So the smoke will usually condense around the fire when the path cools.
From my experience, you have to smoke the bejesus out of food when it's being cold smoked to get the same effect as a hot smoke.
Don't be tempted to create billowing clouds of bad smoke. It's not uncommon to cold smoke for days.
______________________________________________I love lamp.. -
I do this at times just to irritate and smoke out the neighborhoodnolaegghead said:Don't be tempted to create billowing clouds of bad smoke.
Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.
Status- Standing by.
The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. -
I confess. I do troll the neighborhood air quality too.
______________________________________________I love lamp.. -
What kind of fire do you have in the bottom egg here? I want to give this a shot tomorrow with a slab of bacon.DaveRichardson said:I don't think that you have the VOC issue with pellets since they are a compressed wood fiber.@RedSkip - maybe another grill, Weber kettle, or something like that? That'll work with the snorkel connecting the two.
just thinking here..... but logic tells me that since you want the cold smoking chamber not to retain heat very much, the better option would be to use the empty egg with your smoke generating apparatus and then duct it into the other vessel that is no where near as insulated as an egg.
(now only 16 stone)
Joule SV
GE induction stove
Gasser by the community pool (currently unavailable)
Scale (which one of my friends refuses to use)
Friends with BGEs and myriad other fired devices (currently unavail IRL)
Occasional access to a KBQ and Webber Kettle
Charcuterie and sourdough enthusiast
Prosciuttos in an undisclosed locationAustin, TX -
Fwiw, you don't need two eggs.
The smoke chamber is cold. A styrofoam cooler or cardboard box is more than adequate[social media disclaimer: irony and sarcasm may be used in some or all of user's posts; emoticon usage is intended to indicate moderately jocular social interaction; the comments toward users, their usernames, and the real people (living or dead) that they refer to are not intended to be adversarial in nature; those replying to this user are entering into a tacit agreement that they are real-life or social-media acquaintances and/or have agreed to or tacitly agreed to perpetrate occasional good-natured ribbing between and among themselves and others] -
.... but I HAVE two eggs, and hot (or cold) egg on egg action is too temptingDarby_Crenshaw said:Fwiw, you don't need two eggs.
The smoke chamber is cold. A styrofoam cooler or cardboard box is more than adequate(now only 16 stone)
Joule SV
GE induction stove
Gasser by the community pool (currently unavailable)
Scale (which one of my friends refuses to use)
Friends with BGEs and myriad other fired devices (currently unavail IRL)
Occasional access to a KBQ and Webber Kettle
Charcuterie and sourdough enthusiast
Prosciuttos in an undisclosed locationAustin, TX -
Yeah. That goes w/o saying.
Just not required. Cold smoke is cold[social media disclaimer: irony and sarcasm may be used in some or all of user's posts; emoticon usage is intended to indicate moderately jocular social interaction; the comments toward users, their usernames, and the real people (living or dead) that they refer to are not intended to be adversarial in nature; those replying to this user are entering into a tacit agreement that they are real-life or social-media acquaintances and/or have agreed to or tacitly agreed to perpetrate occasional good-natured ribbing between and among themselves and others] -
timely topic, apology to OP for thread jacking, just finished curing two loins for 9 days using Ruhlman's basic cure, one of them with bay leaves, pepper and coriander added. Soaked off salt for few hours, dried in fridge overnight. using my old faithful soldering iron and rusty soup can
Put meat on after about 15 minutes when smoke started coming out, on pan of ice block with ice cubes, plan to go at least four hours, haven't decided whether to cold smoke only or follow up with hot smoke immediately...
turning solder on/off every 10 min or so, to contain heat and conserve fuel (or is that a fallacy?), about an hour in, temp below SM cap = ambient temp...
@20stone I'm afraid to let my eggs 'connect'
canuckland -
if you are hot smoking too, then i would skip the cold. i find four hours cold is a little, well, 'subtle'. and the hot smoke will essentially bury that subtle flavor.
[social media disclaimer: irony and sarcasm may be used in some or all of user's posts; emoticon usage is intended to indicate moderately jocular social interaction; the comments toward users, their usernames, and the real people (living or dead) that they refer to are not intended to be adversarial in nature; those replying to this user are entering into a tacit agreement that they are real-life or social-media acquaintances and/or have agreed to or tacitly agreed to perpetrate occasional good-natured ribbing between and among themselves and others] -
I've done cold only and hot only before, we like cold only better, just wondering whether to experiment with cold+hot this time. Thanks @Darby_Crenshaw for the timely advice, I think I'll just go cold only for 5-6 hours then quit. My folks don't like too much salt nor smoke, I know it's an oxymoron canuckland
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on smaller pieces, shorter times are workable too.
i am reflexively thinking of my cold smoked hams, which i have had go all day long, and because there is a so much meat, the smoke flavor is pretty mellow.
but on a loin like yours, or especially on a fillet of fish, you can notice it more.
personally, i find the loin bacon kinda needs the tightening up of a hot smoke, but either way is good.
[social media disclaimer: irony and sarcasm may be used in some or all of user's posts; emoticon usage is intended to indicate moderately jocular social interaction; the comments toward users, their usernames, and the real people (living or dead) that they refer to are not intended to be adversarial in nature; those replying to this user are entering into a tacit agreement that they are real-life or social-media acquaintances and/or have agreed to or tacitly agreed to perpetrate occasional good-natured ribbing between and among themselves and others] -
Apology again to OP for thread jacking and belated update...
After cold smoking 4.5 hr, I pulled one and hot smoked the other for 5 hr at about 190-200F till IT 140, my bad can't remember whether I added more wood for hot smoking
Rested a day then tasted, sliced and vac sealed.
As it turned out, the cold smoked only was less smoky than the cold+hot smoked one. Both good but next time I'll smoke longer if cold only.
cold+hot on the left; cold only on right...
canuckland -
Dual egg with a dryer vent hose. It does not need to be a super tight fit, it still layers the smoke down.
Why? Because u have 2 eggs , you can and its just fun that way.Seattle, WA -
@Canugghead. For high jacking the thread you should really mail me some bacon... Just sayin'Large BGE - McDonald, PA
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Haha, mailing meat across border is complicated! I have a friend in Beaver Falls PA who cooks at Niagara Eggfest almost every August, I'll freeze some for you!
btw, do you attend the fest at Zellenople? canuckland -
That's actually where I bought my egg. I haven't been to a fest there but it's on the list! Small world...Large BGE - McDonald, PA
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